1. Field of the Invention
The invention most generally relates to a building system using prefabricated building panels preferably with a foam core and the fastening components and raceway components used therewith. The invention also relates to an improved method for the assembling of a building or structure which building preferably uses foam core structural wall, floor, ceiling and roof panels. The invention further relates to locking mechanisms used and integrated with a raceway system. The raceway system is comprised of components which are used in conjunction with the locking mechanisms to form utility carrying raceways and to securely connect wall panels together in edge-to-edge relationship to form walls including structural walls and curtain walls, roof panels to form the roof and to connect the wall panels and roof panels together to result in a complete structure. The raceway system is preferably included and integral with the locking mechanisms of the building system. That is, the raceway system also serves to enhance, when used with the locking mechanism, the locking interengagement of the various building panels.
The invention further relates to particular locking or fastening components; a ram-lock device and a cam-lock device. The ram-lock device comprises basically two components, a ram-lock coupling and thread components. The cam-lock device also comprises basically two components, a cam-lock hook component and a cam-lock latch component. Each of these locking components will be more clearly and completely defined and described.
This invention further relates to the field of prefabricated wall, roof and floor panels which panels are preferably as defined and described in my copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 538,143 abandoned in favor of Continuation-In-Part Ser. No. 876,920 and more particularly to a system for assembling such panels using ram-lock and/or cam lock device and components associated with such Ram and Cam-lock devices which enhances and improves the strength and the ease of assembly of such panels in the construction of any structure such as for example a dwelling. The teachings of my copending application Ser. No. 876,920 and my U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,383 is incorporated herein by reference thereto. The multi-layered panels and those panels having an insect deterrent included within the foam core are as described in Applicant's copending application Ser. No. 876,920 and the single layered panels are as described in Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,907,383 and 4,833,855. The panels so described may be fabricated in a novel way from smaller panel pieces, so as to continue the skin strength (both compression and tensile) and which panels may have incorporated novel means for more securely, efficiently and economically joining such panels to form either structural/load bearing walls or non-structural/non-load bearing walls which may be highly insulative with substantially no thermal bridges.
The panels may be flat or planar or the panels may have a bowed configuration and when assembled in edge-to-edge relationship with complementary mating edges i.e., which edges abuttingly match the edges of similarly configured adjacent panels, form a bowed roof or a bowed wall of a structure such as the bowed roof in a so called "BOWED ROOF CAPE" or "BOWED CAPE".
2. Description of the Prior Art
The rising cost of labor materials have made building construction and especially the construction of homes increasingly more expensive. In addition the cost of heating and cooling a building has increased many times over in recent years. In order to keep the costs of construction, heating, cooling and maintenance within reasonable limits and therefore affordable to the general public, innovations have been necessary. In part because of the availability of prefabricated structure-wall and curtain-wall panels of the type discussed herein and in Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,907,383 and 4,833,855, there has been a return to the post and beam type of modular construction which lends itself to a prefabrication of the many construction components away from the construction site. By prefabricating and precutting many of the components of the structure at a manufacturing facility, many procedures may be used to improve the fabrication efficiency and improve the quality of the components as well as reduce the construction time.
Prefabricated panels that may or may not be load bearing are provided at the construction site and are designed to be used with the post and beam construction. The panels which do not carry a load are sometimes referred to as curtain wall panels and can be used to rapidly enclosed the post and beam frame. The exterior or outer skin of the panel is provided ready for siding to be applied and the inside or inner skin of the panel is provided ready for application of any desired interior finish. Currently the panels, whether they are structure-wall panels (load bearing) or curtain wall panels (non-load bearing), are connected one to the other along the vertical edges of the panels by what is referred to as splines or stud posts. These splines or stud posts unfortunately introduce thermal bridges. Further, the joint of adjacent wall so joined by the stud posts, whether by mechanical or by gluing means, do not continue the strength of the panel skins. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,909 smaller than normal load bearing panels are shown assembled without the use of stud posts. Such an assembly requires that the panels have either the foam insulation extend beyond the panel skins or the panel skins extend beyond the foam insulative core. The two types of panel edges can then be alternatively abutted and fastened, by gluing for example, to form a wall. It should be clearly noted that the assembled wall does not provide for a panel or wall skin which has continuous strength from panel to panel. Prefabricated structure-wall and curtain-wall panels which provide the advantages over the prior art are defined and discussed in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,855.
Presently, homes which have bowed walls and/or bowed roofs are constructed using, in the instance of the bowed roof, rafters which are cut, sawn or laminated to have the appropriate arc or radius to create the bowed roof configuration. The roof skin is then constructed over or between the rafters using conventional and well known construction methods. Likewise, the inner surface had to be finished if the inner surface of the roof was to be a finished surface or a decorated surface. Where appropriate, insulation was also incorporated into the roof.
There are also available homes and/or structures which have roofs which are bowed inwardly or in other words concave instead of convex. Again, the known methods of conventional construction require the use of a relatively complex framing system of concave rafters etc. The roof skin is constructed similarly to the roof for the convex or bowed roof structure and similarly for a structure having a domed roof. The bowed panels defined and described in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,383 provide the advantages needed to construct the bowed roofs and walls of a building.
It would be advantageous to provide a multi-layered core prefabricated insulative building panel which would not require the use of an additional component such as a spline or stud post to attach panels to form a larger panel or wall. In addition to the stud posts being an additional component they also reduce the effective insulative property of the completed building because they create thermal bridges. Thus the elimination of the stud post or splines improves the thermal efficiency of the completed building in addition to enhancing the construction efficiency and reducing the cost. In addition, it would be desirable to have multi-layered core building panels similarly made but which would have a bowed configuration allowing for the construction with such panels of bowed walls, bowed/convex or domed roofs and concave roofs (collectively referred to herein as non-planar walls or non-planar roofs) without the need to fabricate, by lamination or by other well known means, bowed rafters and other similarly configured components which make up the relatively complex framing system. The advantages of bowed roofs and bowed walls are relatively obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art of home or building design and construction. Among some of the advantages are increased living space and permitting new design variations with prefabricated panel construction. Where the bowed multi-layered core prefabricated panels are structural panels, it is possible to construct a bowed roof or a bowed wall for example without the need for bowed rafters and a bowed wall stud configuration thereby, for the bowed roof, increasing the usable space available on the second and the third level of the building. Bowed non-structural prefabricated panels having proper joining systems incorporated therein could readily be used as curtain wall (non-structural) panels or placed over bowed roof rafters and would thereby eliminate the construction step of insulating the roof when the panel is provided with a multi-layered insulative foam core. Such panels which solve these problems are described in Applicant's copending application Ser. No. 876,920.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,312 there is described a prefabricated panel construction system using self-drilling threaded fasteners, metal strips embedded in the panels to provide anchors for the threaded fasteners and specially adapted insulating member along one edges of each panel to provide mechanical support. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,472 there is described a lightweight structural building panel having a shape compatible for use in assembling a geodesic dome structure. It is important to note that the panels do not have a bowed configuration and could not be used in the manner described herein.
It is also important to note that many of the prefabricated building panels currently in use have, as a core material, styrofoam/styrenes or other forms of thermoplastic foam. The core of these panels melts very quickly in the presence of high temperature and as a result the panels lose their structural integrity very quickly. The panels described in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,383 BOWED ROOF STRUCTURE, STRUCTURE PANEL AND METHOD FOR USING SAME and applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,855 have a homogeneous insulative core material, and where the core material is a thermosetting material such a urethane the panel cores do not melt when exposed to high heat. However, the panels are more expensive and heavier than panels having a thermoplastic core. Also, in order to foam-in-place the urethane foam and to also use the urethane foam to bond the skin or skins to the homogeneous urethane core, it is necessary to heat the foam for a fairly long time. The panels of the present invention overcome the disadvantages of these prior art panels. The multi-layered core building panel provides the thermal protection, provides the fastening means, i.e., the bonding and improves the strength of the panel and the stability of the panel skins. Additionally, since the layers adjacent to the skins does not constitute the entire core, the time to foam and bond the skin and the second or inner core layer is reduced. A panel used as the building panels in the present invention, a building system using prefabricated building panels preferably with a foam core and the fastening components and raceway components used therewith could have a metal skin, a thermosetting foam plastic core layer bonded to the skin and to a second core layer of a thermoplastic foam. The thermosetting foam layer would provide an effective thermal barrier between the metal skin and the styrofoam core. I.e., it would extend the period of time at which the styrofoam core would melt and become structurally unstable in the presence of high heat.
Associated with all of the prefabricated construction panels discussed above there is the problem of ant infestation. While standard methods may be employed to eliminate the presence of ants and termites and other insects which attack wooden structures, where prefabricated panels are used it is difficult to introduce pesticides and fungicides into the core regions of the panels. It would be extremely advantageous to be able to incorporate or encapsulate a material or compound into the core of the panel which would deter the infestation of insects.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of constructing a building using prefabricated building panels, both structure wall and curtain wall in addition to roof panels (all prefabricated building panels being improved by incorporating locking mechanisms and/or raceway components). By incorporating a raceway as an integral part of the assembly scheme, many of the construction problems related to the power wiring and telephone, audio etc. wiring are overcome. Additionally, by using locking mechanisms such as the novel cam-lock and ram-lock devices taught and claimed herein, construction requires only the use of fundamental tools such as hammers and perhaps a special spanner wrench for tightening the ram-lock device. With the cam-lock device, a wrench such as an allen wrench may be needed to rotate the cam/hook component of the cam-lock device. Little if any nailing is required and construction may be accomplished from primarily within the structure as it is being completed. Special components are disclosed to be incorporated into improved building panels which permit the locking interconnection of building panels to eave walls, gable-end walls, purlins, floor joists, corner walls and for making roof ridges by interconnecting roof panels to a ridge plate or by properly interengaging two roof panels to form a folded ridge.
The following patents are representative of the prior art in the fields of building panel assembly. Comments are provided for those Patents which have been deemed most pertinent.
Hulse, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,603 shows a fastener for retaining a pair of panels. The fastener is used to attach panels to posts, it does not have a mating component, it does not provide a conduit path, does not hold two panels in tight edge-to-edge engagement and is otherwise different from the instant ram-lock mechanism.
Wollar, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,329 shows a one-piece drive fastener for securing a plurality of apertured members to each other. It does not appear that such fasteners could be used to accomplish the function and purpose of the present invention. Comments relative to Hulse, above, apply to Wollar.
Mizusawa, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,111 shows a plastic nut having a cylindrical body incorporating in the tubular wall thereof resilient pieces with check screw threads on the inner surfaces. The mating component is an ordinary bolt and when pushed into the nut, the check screw threads of the nut engage inseparably with the screw threads on the bolt. The nut may only be removed by relative rotation around the bolt.
Wahner, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,194 shows building panels made using "retention members" to attach the core to the outer skin of the panel.
Mizusawa et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,545 shows a fastening device of synthetic resin having a male member with threads on a portion of the shaft and a female member having at least one pitch of spiral thread on the inside surface of the bore. The fastening device is intended for use in fastening two apertured panels in face-to-face union. It is not intended, and could not be reasonably used to attach two panels in tight edge-to-edge attachment.
Wollar, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,722 shows a fastener that is used to releasably secure a pair of panels that are in spaced apart relationship. This fastener would not be reasonably useful for tightly securing panels edge-to-edge.
Thompson, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,136 shows a two-piece edge fastener used to secure two adjoining building panels to a substrate or other supporting structure. The device taught by Thompson would not be used to secure two adjoining building panels to each other without the use of such a substrate.
Junemann et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,582 shows a fastener similar to some of the other prior art discussed above in that it is made of a resilient material to be pressed onto a threaded pin.